A Phoenix By Any Other Name
by jbn42
Summary: Waking up is, in itself, a surprise, but Wash is even more surprised by the help she gets with her efforts to get home.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **This is a short prologue – because it's short, I'm also going to post the second part today – then one part a day and so on; this story (and all of my Wash/Taylor stories) are in the same universe as Our Ghosts Stay With Us, published here yesterday; it was also previously published on LiveJournal.

This is my Finale Fix-It Fic – because clearly, the way they left it was just wrong!

Rating is for language and occasional violence, adult themes. Spoilers for all Season 1 episodes.

**Disclaimer wise, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.**

_The report of my death was an exaggeration._- Mark Twain

Vibration. Bumps. Noise. Voices. Those are the things she becomes aware of, in that order. The fifth thing she becomes aware of is pain in her head, what feels like a migraine of epic proportion. She can't decide if she's annoyed by the pain or happy to be feeling anything at all, since waking up is not something she ever really expected to do again.

Her eyes flutter open, and even the small amount of light where she is sends more pain lancing through her skull. She squeezes her eyes closed, almost overcome by a wave of nausea. After a few moments of deep breathing, she cautiously tries to open her eyes again, this time only risking opening them into slits. She can see enough to know that she has no idea where she is, but judging by the bumps and vibration, she knows that whatever the location is, it's moving.

Her eyes start to slowly adjust to the light, so she opens them further, peering around the shadowy space. It appears to be a truck of some sort, loaded with supplies. As far as she can tell, there isn't anyone in the truck with her, but she can't see all the way to the back. She tries and fails to move her uncooperative arms to pull herself into a sitting position.

Looking down, she sees that her wrists are bound in front of her. Even minimal effort to try to loosen the bonds sends more pain through her head, so she gives up for now, once again closing her eyes against the pain. The truck goes over a large bump, making her bounce against the hard surface of the truck floor. Her head hits, and she can't stop herself from crying out softly.

A moment later, she hears a woman's voice. "Welcome back, Lieutenant."

She knows the voice, and she thinks the identity of the owner is probably not a good sign for her. Without opening her eyes, she mutters, "Mira. Just my damned luck. What the hell is going on, and why the hell am I still breathing?"

Mira laughs mirthlessly. "You could sound a little happier about that, Lieutenant. To make a long story short, like the true mercenaries they are, the Phoenix Group soldiers knew you could potentially be worth more to them alive than dead, whether with Taylor or as a carrot to keep Lucas focused, so they'd adjusted Lucas' gun to make sure they'd get their possible bargaining chip, and frankly, to help prevent Lucas from turning on them."

"How long was I out, and where are we going?" As long as Mira is answering, Alicia figures she'll keep asking questions.

"You've been out for about two days, which is why you're starting to smell pretty rank, and we're heading for the Badlands."

Alicia blinks and looks up at Mira, who is standing over her. "The Badlands? Why? And why leave the colony?"

Mira shakes her head. "I'm not telling you that right now."

The truck hits another bump, making Alicia close her eyes again. "Bet Lucas is pissed at the Phoenix guys about me failing to be dead." That gets another chuckle from Mira, who Alicia feels settling near her on the floor of the truck.

"That's an understatement, but they aren't really concerned. It didn't take long for them to figure out that he's pretty much batshit crazy by now. They didn't openly defy him, but they're sneaky as hell. And no matter how smart he is, Lucas is so damned focused on his revenge that he isn't exactly tuned into everything going on around him. Anyway, not long after shooting you, he was in the group headed for the portal, ran into Taylor at some point. He didn't even find out that you're alive until he got back."

Alicia's eyes fly back open. "He came face to face with Nathaniel? What happened?"

Mira gives her a pointed look. "'Nathaniel' is it?" At the insinuating tone, Alicia narrows her eyes at Mira, who snorts. "You know, it's not like I give a damn, and I won't act like it's all that surprising. As for what happened, Lucas came back with multiple gunshot wounds, apparently courtesy of Skye. When last seen, Taylor was still alive, if bleeding."

Relief that is almost palpable rushes through her, but she can't help but feel a little suspicious. "Why are you telling me all this, Mira? Why the making nice?"

"Maybe I've decided I like you," Mira offers.

"Bullshit. Not only do you not like me, I'm pretty sure you completely despise me and Taylor both. Try again." Alicia's head is still pounding, and her patience is basically non-existent.

Mira gives her a funny look which morphs into a wry smile. "Good call, Lieutenant. I can't stand you. But I'm learning to like a few others even less, and you've got potential value to me and my people." The truck suddenly stops, and Mira gets to her feet. She looks down at Alicia. "I'd pretend to still be out, Lieutenant, or they might put you out. As for who I like the most and the least, just pay attention, because things are about to get interesting."

With that cryptic sentiment, Mira heads towards the back of the truck, yelling at someone to ask why they stopped. Alicia suddenly feels herself fading, and the medic in her takes over, mentally cataloging symptoms and injuries. She knows she should try to stay awake because she likely has a concussion, but it's becoming clear that she isn't going to have to pretend to be out.

As her eyes drift closed, she ponders Mira's words, and then worry clouds her mind, worry for Nathaniel, as it occurs to her that he almost certainly doesn't know she's alive. Before losing consciousness again, she whispers, "I'll be home soon, Nathaniel. I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **As promised, part two today! This story (and all of my Wash/Taylor stories) is in the same universe as Our Ghosts Stay With Us, published here yesterday; it was also previously published on LiveJournal.

This is my Finale Fix-It Fic – because clearly, the way they left it was just wrong!

**Disclaimer wise, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.**

_Terra Nova_

Jim Shannon climbs the stairs to the command center, knowing he needs to talk to Taylor but dreading it at the same time. Talyor's putting on a good front for the colonists, but Jim knows that he's a wreck. Ever since he and Elisabeth found out about Taylor's relationship with Wash, Jim has been worried about what the fallout would be if something happened to one of them.

Now it has happened, and it's even worse than Jim could've imagined. Not only did they lose Wash, but they lost her at the hand of Taylor's own son. Watching Lucas shoot her was one of the hardest things he ever did, and he can't even begin to imagine what it was like for Taylor. Jim shakes his head. He's pretty impressed that Taylor can even make himself get out of bed in the morning, much less run the colony.

They're all still bothered by the fact that, when they'd gotten back after blowing up the portal and Hope Plaza, all that was left of Wash was her things in her quarters and her tags, the tags left rather cruelly in the middle of the desk in Taylor's office. Her body was nowhere to be found; even Boylan had no idea what the Phoenix Group soldiers had done with her.

Now standing at the partially-open door to Taylor's office, Jim peers around the edge of it. He sees Taylor at the desk, staring blankly at the plex in his hands. Clearing his throat, Jim steps into the office. Taylor jumps a little, but Jim pretends not to notice. Instead, he just launches into his report on the work details he has running to repair the damage done to the colony, something that stings because it would usually be Wash running the project.

After about ten minutes, Jim finishes, and Taylor says absently, "OK, thanks, Shannon. Just let me know if any issues arise." He nods to Jim, a clear dismissal.

Jim turns to go, but he pauses at the door. "Taylor?" The commander looks up. "Elisabeth wanted me to invite you for dinner tonight, or any other night this week."

Taylor tries to smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Thanks, Shannon, but I'm good. Tell Elisabeth I appreciate the offer, though."

Jim nods, not at all surprised by the response. "I'll do that, but just know that our door is always open." With that, he slips back out into the sunny afternoon.

Taylor tosses his plex onto the desk. He's mad at himself for his lack of focus, and he has no idea how to pull himself together. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out her tags, staring at them and running a finger over the two small objects he has attached to them.

Just thinking about her brings memories of the morning of the eleventh pilgrimage to mind, waking up with her tucked into his side, her ebony hair fanned out over his shoulder and onto the pillow. In the years that they'd been together, they'd rarely indulged in staying all night, though the frequency had definitely increased in the last few months. That night, despite her irritation with him over his ordering her to stay in Terra Nova while he went to the portal, she'd asked him to stay.

As always happens now, the image of her sleeping soundly next to him is suddenly replaced by the image of his son shooting her in the head at point blank range. He knows Shannon was right, that going in to try and save her would have been suicide, but he can't help but hate himself for not doing it, for not trying.

He also wishes that they'd just said to hell with it and been more open about their relationship for these past six years when it had been anything but a platonic friendship. He takes a moment to think about their first time together, not long after her arrival here following his 118 days on his own. After being alone for that long, all it had taken was him seeing her again to know that he missed her a lot more than you miss a friend or colleague. Lucky for him, she had missed him almost as much as he had missed her, and it hadn't taken all that long for them to act on it.

Over the years, they'd been careful to guard the secret of their relationship, knowing that they could still be reprimanded for it, even millions of years in the past. Something had changed, though, after he'd been infected by the pathogen that had taken his mind back to 2138. In the hours after waking up from the stun blast from Alicia that saved his life, he'd come to realize how much he needed her and how bad he'd felt about being willing to kill himself after being told that Ayani was gone.

That night, he'd gone to see her, and somehow, without any real definitive action, their relationship had evolved into something even deeper and more significant. Things had changed more since then, but he can't bring himself to think about those changes right now. They just make everything that happened hurt that much more.

He shakes his head and looks at the clock. Seeing that it's already getting late, he's surprised by the fact that he's managed to make it through another day without her, though the days feel like trudging through sand.

He knows one thing for certain. At this point in his life, he can't ever let anyone in again. Everyone he has ever loved is either dead, as Ayani and Alicia are; or irrevocably lost, as Lucas is. All three were lost by his own faults, at least it's his belief that they were. What he is left with is the knowledge that he can't ever lose anyone again, not if he wants to keep going. And he knows he needs to keep going, if only for the good of the colony, because the colony is all he has left.

After taking one last look at her tags, he slips them back into his pocket. Sighing, he gets up, leaves his office and wanders down the steps of the command center. He heads to the market to find something to eat and put on a show for the colonists that everything is fine.

_Phoenix Group Convoy_

When Alicia wakes up again, she has no idea how long she was out, but the truck is moving again. It's easier for her to open her eyes this time, and her headache has diminished to a tolerably dull roar. Rolling her shoulders, she realizes that her wrists are no longer bound, just one wrist is secured to a metal slat on the truck instead. A small box with a bottle of water and some sort of fruit in it sits next to her on the floor. She picks up a piece of the fruit and examines it, even taking a whiff of it.

"It's clean, Wash." Mira eyes her from the back of the truck. "I'll take a bite of it if you want."

Alicia shrugs and takes a bite of the fruit, and it makes her realize how hungry she was. After eating a few more bites, she sets it down. "So, you're calling me Wash now?"

Imitating Alicia's shrug from a few moments earlier, Mira replies, "Lieutenant is too much of a mouthful, and I didn't really think you'd appreciate me calling you Alicia. Wash seemed the safest option."

"Fair enough." Alicia takes a drink of the water and goes back to munching on the fruit. After a silent minute or two, Alicia asks sarcastically, "Are we there yet?"

Mira snorts. "We'll actually be at the planned camp site soon."

"How long was I out this time?"

"What, are you trying to figure out where we are based on how long we've been traveling?" Mira gives her a suspicious look.

Wash rolls her eyes, something she regrets when it makes her head pound. "Mira, I was a damned field medic long before I was second in command of Terra Nova. Considering that you told me I was out for two days, what I'm trying to figure out now is whether I have a catastrophic brain injury or just a really nasty concussion."

"Ah. Sorry," Mira responds, not sounding sorry at all, "Only about two hours. I'm guessing you're likely fine."

"Thanks, doc." Wash knows she sounds about as sincere as Mira.

The truck comes to a stop before Mira can retort, and she just jumps out of the back. When she returns a few minutes later, it's to tell Alicia that they're getting the camp set up. "I'll be back for you later. Don't try anything, Wash. I'm posting one of my people at the back of the truck, and I've made it very clear to them that they can shoot you if it becomes necessary. Don't make it necessary, because if you do, you'll definitely still be at the top of my 'people I hate' list."

"Frankly, even moving makes my head hurt. I'm not going anywhere," Alicia pauses, and Mira turns to go, "Yet."

Mira turns back to her, shooting her a dark look, but Alicia isn't impressed. "I'm only going to sit tight and be a good girl for so long. You have to know that, Mira. Think about how long you'd be willing to wait, subtract a few days, and you'll have an idea of how long I'll last."

For a moment, Mira looks so angry that Alicia wonders if she's about to get another blow to the head. Then, her face twists into a wry, almost feral smile. "Understood, Wash. But keep in mind that your value to me will be based on cooperation. And part of what I'll do to protect that value is keep Lucas away from you. I feel certain that is something of value to you, since he'd gleefully blow your brains out right now, given the opportunity."

Alicia stares at Mira for a moment before giving her a slight nod. Mira returns the nod, and she jumps out of the back of the truck again, leaving Alicia alone in the low light. She sighs, finding a small amount of relief in the fact that she no longer feels a compelling need to close her eyes and sleep. That at least makes the medic in her happy.

She slumps back against the wall of the truck, wondering what the hell is really going on here. Mira has always disliked her, so she can't quite figure out what the play is for Mira and the Sixers. Maybe if she can get Mira to tell her why the Phoenix Group left the colony, she'll understand the big picture better. Suddenly, she sits up straight when it occurs to her that maybe Shannon got her message about Cu Lao Cham to Nathaniel. Maybe they blew the portal.

Her mind races at that thought. She doesn't know why that would make the Phoenix Group abandon the colony, but if it did, she's happy to know it. Leaning back against the wall again, she pulls her knees up to her chest, wrapping her free arm around her legs. Her thoughts turn to Nathaniel. It's killing her to think that he probably doesn't know she survived, not because she wants them to mount a rescue, but because she knows what kind of pain he must be in between her being gone and Lucas turning on him so spectacularly.

She closes her eyes, trying to push those thoughts away. Instead, she concentrates on the notion that she's going to get out of this, with or without assistance from Mira and the Sixers. She'll give them a little time, but then all bets will be off. All she wants right now is to go home, and come hell or high water, she knows she will make it.

Memories of the night before the eleventh pilgrimage flash unbidden to her mind, first of Nathaniel above her as they moved almost desperately against one another, and then later falling asleep in his arms, hoping that it wouldn't be for the last time. A loud noise from the back of the truck suddenly shatters her reverie. Looking up to see a person standing there in the lengthening shadows, her stomach drops just a little, but her face doesn't betray her. "Lucas."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer wise, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.**

_Phoenix Group __Camp, The Badlands_

"Wash."

"Long time, no see, Lucas. How are the gunshot wounds healing up?" Alicia asks with a sneer, wondering where the hell Mira's guard went.

Lucas approaches her slowly, still clearly in some pain. "I'm touched by your concern." His voice is cold and angry, but she ignores that.

"I should be clear, Lucas. I don't actually give a shit. I was just making conversation. You shot me, then you got shot. Karma's a real bitch, isn't it? I just love that it's Skye who shot you. I bet that was a bit of a shock."

If possible, Lucas' eyes go even colder. "Yes, it would appear that my father has traded his lapdog in for a newer model. What will you do, Wash, now that you've been replaced?"

Alicia can't hold back a laugh at that. "You know, Lucas, for someone as smart as I know you are, you really can be an idiot sometimes. It amazes me that, after all this time, you still have no understanding of who your father is."

As she looks at him, all she can see is a tantrum-throwing child in a man's body. She can't help feeling a flash of pity, but she also realizes that any sympathy or patience she's ever had for him has been obliterated by his recent actions, both towards her and towards Nathaniel.

The pity must show in her eyes, because Lucas approaches menacingly. "My mother is dead because of him. I have no desire to understand who my father is." He gets right in her face, probably hoping to see her flinch. There's no way she'd give him that satisfaction. He draws his hand back as if he's going to hit her, but, defiantly holding his gaze, she doesn't move an inch.

"Lucas!" Mira's angry voice echoes from the back of the truck. "Back the hell off."

He spins and glares at Mira. "I'll do as I see fit, Mira. I've only been told that they want her alive. They didn't say it had to be alive and still pretty."

"You think I'm pretty, Lucas? How sweet," Alicia snarks, drawing a withering look from Mira and more of Lucas' ire.

Before Mira can do or say anything, Lucas lashes out and backhands her twice. "Go ahead, Wash. Be as much of a smart ass as you want. Once I find them a new portal back to our future, the Phoenix Group is going to call off Mira and give you back to me as a prize. I'll take my time killing you next time, make sure it's done right, and then I'll send you back to my father one bloody piece at a time. You have my word on that."

Despite the new throbbing in her lip and right eye, she just spits out the blood drawn from her split lip and stares back at him, uncowed. "I can't wait."

They just stare at each other, anger burning bright between them, until Mira ends it. "That's enough. Both of you. Lucas, out. Lieutenant, on your feet."

"You don't get to give me orders, Mira." Lucas' actions belie his words, and he shoots one last glare at Alicia before stalking out.

Alicia struggles to her feet, the two new blows to her head making her dizzy as she tries to stand. Once she's up, Mira approaches her. "Ground rule, Wash. Do not taunt him. I have some authority courtesy of the Phoenix Group, but don't forget that Lucas has lost his damned mind. If he'd had a gun, he'd have shot you just now."

"Got to say, not all that impressed by your promised protection thus far, Mira. I thought you were going to keep him away from me." Wash uses her free hand to try to feel how bad the split to her lip is and to wipe the blood away.

"Bad communication. The guard didn't realize that when I said no one but our people enter, that did not include Lucas." Mira's voice is unapologetic, but her eyes give away her concern. "He's even more unhinged now that Skye made it clear that her loyalty is to Taylor."

"I bet." Alicia doesn't want to think about Lucas any more today. "What now, Mira?"

Before replying, Mira reaches up and uses a knife to cut the tie binding Wash to the slat of the truck. "You're with me. Hands in front."

Alicia decides to just go along for now, and she holds her wrists out for Mira to bind them. Mira restrains her with what look like standard military cuffs, and as she does it, she says, "You know, I told you I want you alive. But I also told you I don't like you, and I meant it. So next time you decide to piss off Lucas, I'm going to let him take as many swings at you as he wants. Understood?"

After a beat, Alicia nods. "Understood."

"When we go out there," Mira indicates the back of the truck, "The Phoenix Group needs to believe that I am with them one hundred percent. I need you to act tense, anxious. You follow me, Wash?"

"Tense won't be an act. I like and trust you about as much as you like and trust me. Considering, however, that anxious would be entirely out of character for me, anxious is not going to happen." Alicia meets Mira's gaze steadily, almost daring her to argue.

"Fine." Mira gives her a shove towards the back of the truck, making her stumble slightly, her bound hands and recent blows to the head ruining her balance. "Let's go."

Alicia doesn't respond, just reaches out with her bound hands to right herself by pushing off of a supply crate. She walks carefully to the back of the truck, shadowed by Mira. Getting to the opening, she realizes they're pretty far off the ground, so she uses her hands on the edge of the opening to slowly lower herself into a sitting position with her legs hanging off the back, and then twists around to jump down.

Mira easily hops out behind her, giving her a begrudgingly admiring smirk. "Well, done, Wash. I figured you'd go down at least once."

"Thanks. I think."

Motioning with her head towards a grouping of tents, Mira orders, "That way, Lieutenant."

With a nod, Alicia heads off in the direction indicated, sensing Mira close behind her. A moment later, Alicia is surprised when Carter silently falls into step with them. Carter stays behind them, and Mira draws even with Alicia, guiding her through the tents to one towards the back of the grouping, close to what appears to be the outer edge of the camp.

The whole time they're walking, Alicia is carefully scanning her surroundings, and she notices that none of the people she sees near this group of tents appear to be Phoenix Group. They're all Sixers. She files that clear segregation away in her mind, and it helps shed some light on Mira's willingness to help her.

When they get to the tent, Mira holds the flap open and gestures for Alicia to enter. As she goes in, she notices another two Sixers approaching. She hears Carter tell the new people to stand watch and let them know if any Phoenix Group soldiers approach, another interesting wrinkle that she files away. At Mira's direction, Alicia sits down on one of the two cots in the tent.

Mira comes over and unbinds one of her wrists, attaching the loose cuff to the edge of the cot. As she does, Carter comes into the tent, pulling the flap closed behind him. He gets to the middle of the tent and stops, looking down at her as Mira sits on the other cot. "So, how's it going, Lieutenant?"

Alicia arches an eyebrow at him. "Just peachy, Carter. The whole 'not dead' thing is especially nice."

He smirks. "Glad to hear it."

"Enough small talk," Mira says, "Time to lay it all out, Carter."

Carter ignores Alicia momentarily, focusing on Mira. "Are you sure about this, Mira? We're putting a lot of trust in someone who we know hates us."

"She may hate us, but I'm banking on the fact that of us, the Phoenix Group and Lucas, she hates us the least." Mira stands up and motions to Alicia's cot.

Carter clearly remains skeptical. "That's still a big wild card."

"Maybe so, but I'm more than willing to take the odds, if only because I know she wants to get back to Taylor. That alone will keep her on our side."

Growing more impatient by the second, Alicia huffs out a breath and flops back on her cot, stretching out, crossing her legs at the ankles and putting her free arm under her head. She clearly got Mira's and Carter's attention, because they both turn to look at her. She fixes them with a glare. "Just let me know when you're done talking about me like I'm not here. I'd step out to give you two some privacy, but hey, chained to the bed here." She closes her eyes and waits.

After a few minutes, during which she figures Carter and Mira are having some sort of silent conversation, or maybe just a battle of wills, Mira says, "Open your eyes, Wash. We have a proposition I think might interest you."

_Terra Nova_

As the sun is setting, Taylor stands at the top of a guard tower along the Terra Nova fence line, looking off in the direction of the Badlands. He's just finished an evening patrol around the perimeter, something he and Wash frequently did together. He now walks it alone, both morning and night, unwilling to allow anyone else to join him. He turns slightly as he hears someone coming up onto the tower. A moment later, Reynolds and Shannon appear.

Reynolds stands at attention, while Jim leans against the tower rail. The young corporal speaks up first. "You wanted to see us, sir?"

Taylor can't help his small smile at the kid's eagerness. "At ease, Corporal." Reynolds relaxes a little. "Do we have any new reports on the movements of the Phoenix Group?"

Shannon nods. "Yes. The recon team reported back that it looks like they're setting up a semi-permanent camp not too deep into the Badlands."

When Shannon looks to him, Reynolds says, "They're only a few clicks into the arid region at most. They're almost due north of us. We've got a few outposts between here and there, but we haven't been able to check them all out since we got back."

Taylor suddenly realizes that he's let himself be out of the loop on things for too long. They should've been checking all the outposts already. "When do we expect the recon team to need relief and new supplies?"

"A few days, give or take," Jim replies.

Looking back to the north for a moment, Taylor works out a plan in his head. "OK. We need to get teams moving out to all of the outposts. I want to get damage assessments for all of them, so we can figure out what needs to be done to get them up to snuff again, especially with regard to communications and supplies. We can time the check to the far northern outpost to coincide with a resupply and relief for the recon team."

Reynolds pulls out a plex and makes some notes. "How many teams are you thinking, sir? And how many people per team?"

"We have to keep enough military here for defensive purposes, so let's just go with two teams. I can lead one. Reynolds, you can lead the other. I'll take Dunham with me, Reynolds, you take Reilly. Shannon, I need you to stay here and hold down the fort."

Nodding, Reynolds replies, "Yes, sir. If you'd like, I can go talk to Reilly and Dunham. I'm assuming we'll just be checking a couple at a time and then coming back for necessary supplies for each outpost?" At Taylor's affirmative nod, Reynolds goes on, "OK, then we can start working up a schedule and plan. Do you have a preference as to direction, sir?"

Taylor shakes his head. "Not really. Why don't you and Reilly go north, and Dunham and I can check out the southern ones? Go on and find them, draw up your plan, and come by my office tomorrow morning and go over it with me. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir." Reynolds gives Shannon a wave and heads down to seek out Reilly and Dunham, leaving Taylor alone with Shannon.

Jim looks at Taylor for a moment, observing him before breaking the silence. "Taylor, I can do the OTG work if you prefer it. And I can also get someone to handle the perimeter walks you've been doing. I know Guzman is slammed with just keeping track of our various security issues, but I'm sure he can suggest someone…"

"No," Taylor interrupts, more harshly than he intended. In a softer tone, he says, "I have to keep doing the perimeter for now, Shannon. I need to. I also need to get OTG again, to let things start to go back to normal, at least as much as actually possible. And without Al-, without Wash, I want you covering things here when I do go OTG. You can handle morning and evening perimeter checks when I'm OTG, either you or Guz. Work it out with him."

Sighing a little, Jim observes Taylor, who looks exhausted. "OK Taylor, but don't forget that the colony needs you. Running yourself into the ground won't help anything."

Taylor gives Shannon a sharp look and starts to give an even sharper reply when he catches the younger man's eyes. In them, he sees nothing but genuine concern. He rubs his hand over his own eyes before looking back towards the north. "I know, Shannon. It's just going to take me a little time."

Jim nods and turns to go. He's already started heading down to the ground when he hears Taylor's voice behind him. "And don't tell your wife how tired I look. She'll probably try to tranq me for my own good."

The delivery lacks most of Taylor's usual snap, but it makes Jim chuckle nonetheless. "Will do my best to keep it quiet, Commander, if you promise to at least try to get some sleep. Deal?"

"Deal, Shannon." He agrees, but he knows he's not likely to succeed at his attempts to sleep. When he closes his eyes, he sees her face. Until that stops, he recognizes that his rest will be fleeting at best. After another moment staring to the north, he turns away from the rail to head home.

Earlier today, he'd had Reynolds and Reilly help him box up Alicia's personal effects and transfer them to his house. It had bothered him to do so, just another admission that she's gone, but some of the housing units had been damaged during the Phoenix Group's occupation, and they needed her unit for some of the displaced.

He knows that discretion would've demanded that he just put her things in storage, but he is pretty far past giving a damn about discretion. As he walks towards his house, he puts his hand in his pocket and wraps it around her tags again. He's dreading going through her things, but he feels he owes it to her to do it. He's also hoping he might find some more pictures of them together; he doesn't have many, but he knows she had a few he didn't.

It's full dark when he enters his house. He considers going to bed, but knowing it would just lead to another night tossing and turning, he instead turns on the lights and walks to the pile of boxes that they'd stacked against the wall earlier today. He picks up a box and puts it on the kitchen table before turning on the coffee maker. Settling at the table, mug in hand, he opens the box and begins to slowly go through the contents of her life.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer wise, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.**

_Phoenix Group Camp, The Badlands_

_3 Days Later_

Alicia wakes up to the sounds of the camp outside the tent, sounds she has become accustomed to over the last few days. She looks over at Mira's cot and shakes her head when she sees that it's empty. If they want this whole thing to be believable, they really need to not make such an obvious show of trusting her.

As she sits up, her handcuff clinks against the bed frame. She really can't wait until that thing is gone. According to Mira, that will happen any day now. Thinking back to three days ago, she wonders if Mira and Carter are going to make good on the scheme they presented to her, or if it was just bullshit.

The plan itself is risky, and Alicia thinks that the motives behind it are somewhat questionable. But if it gets her the hell out of here, she doesn't give a damn. She's still surprised by how willing Mira is to trust her; Carter was less so, but he seems to have come around. It's pretty clear that they all still really don't like each other, but an uneasy détente has descended, a begrudging respect in the air.

It's a simple plan. In the middle of the night, Mira lets Alicia escape, Carter meets Alicia one click south of the camp with a few weapons, rations and a mode of transportation, and Alicia takes off for the nearest Terra Nova outpost. When they laid the plan out for her, Alicia just looked at them like they were insane. It wasn't because it's not a workable plan. The plan is fine. But as much as she wants to go home, she couldn't understand for the life of her why they were willing to put this plan in motion for her.

She finally just asked them straight out, once it became clear that the why of it wasn't in their rehearsed explanation. Mira's reply had been simple: they, the Sixers, were going to play both sides of the fence. They will work for the Phoenix Group until Lucas opens a portal back to their 2149; until they turn on the Sixers; or until it becomes clear that a new portal will never be opened.

At the same time, Mira and Carter will provide intel back to Terra Nova. Mira rather bluntly told Alicia that she and Carter figured that between returning Alicia in one piece and then spying on the Phoenix Group, all of the Sixers, including Mira and Carter, would earn some sort of asylum or amnesty for themselves in Terra Nova. Alicia's reply had been simple: I'll do what I can, but I can't promise you anything. That had apparently been enough.

It certainly made clear why Carter had been so worried about being able to trust Alicia. The Sixers would have a hell of a lot riding on her endorsing them and making clear how far they went to help her escape.

Mira will be paying the biggest price. Not only will the Phoenix Group be displeased by her inability to manage one prisoner, but also, in order to make the escape believable, she's going to have to let Alicia render her unconscious. Alicia offered to do it with an injection if Mira would get her the drugs, but Mira insisted it will be more believable if Wash beats the crap out of her.

Alicia thinks it's a pretty decent plan all the way around, and she can appreciate the reasoning behind it. She's also more than a little uncomfortable being this close to Lucas. She's not strictly afraid of him, but she does know that he wouldn't hesitate to finish her off given the opportunity. As far as she's concerned, she really doesn't want to hang around to give him said opportunity.

When she gets back to the colony, she'll have to get Boylan to give up the communicators he used in the past with the Sixers. Mira is getting her safe frequencies to use in order to connect with the Sixers from Terra Nova, frequencies the Phoenix Group doesn't use. Since Boylan will need to make good with Nathaniel over his past communications with the Sixers, Alicia has no doubt Boylan will be very cooperative.

One thing Alicia can admit is that a small, deeply immature part of her can't wait to take Mira down. But wait she must, until they get to what Mira terms "the right time," when Mira and Carter feel like she's been here long enough for there to have been a believable show of minding the prisoner. Alicia has warned her more than once that the right time better damn well be soon, because her patience is wearing thin.

Raised voices outside Mira's tent suddenly get Alicia's attention. She looks towards the entrance, but no one enters. Looking down, she notices a wash basin and water on the floor, sitting next to a bottle of water and a piece of bread and some of the fruit that she's been subsisting on since the first day here. Being allowed to get cleaned up and stay that way had been one of the conditions she'd placed on agreeing to the plan, hence the wash basin. That condition had gotten an outright laugh out of Mira. Today, she's back in her own clothes from the colony, cleaned for her by one of Mira's people.

After getting cleaned up, Alicia sits back on her cot and eats her breakfast, waiting for Mira to return. Half an hour later, she hears Mira's voice outside the tent, instructing someone to keep an eye out. A moment later, Mira comes into the tent, looking more anxious than Alicia has ever seen her, and she doesn't waste any time telling Alicia what's going on. "You're going tonight, sneaking out of here at 1:30, meeting Carter at the rendezvous point at 2."

"What's happening out there, Mira? It's more active than usual. And not that I'm not sick as hell of waiting, why is tonight suddenly the right time?"

Mira flops down on her cot, her demeanor around Alicia almost comically relaxed at this point. "To answer both of your questions, the powers that be have finally figured out that Terra Nova has a recon team with eyes on this camp, so we're moving the camp first thing tomorrow morning – so, you go tonight. For the record, Carter and I both spotted the recon team about ten minutes after we made camp."

"Well, now I know why you haven't let me out of this tent. Me getting spotted would've likely led to a rescue attempt, and then I'd be no use to you," Alicia pauses, and Mira gives her a short nod in acknowledgement. "Do you have the communication frequencies I'm supposed to provide to Boylan?"

"I'm getting them put on a chip right now. It'll be small enough for you to hide it somewhere…safe."

Alicia rolls her eyes. "Can't wait."

Chuckling, Mira gets up. "The guard's going to be outside all day, and someone will be by shortly to take you to use the bathroom. I've got to go help get things packed up and mobilized for the move. The sleeping tents will be just about all that's left up by nightfall. Sorry, but you're going to be on your own all day today, Lieutenant. Hope you don't get too bored."

"Don't worry. I can spend my time thinking about ways to annoy you on our last evening together. Should be fun." Alicia smirks at Mira, who is, by now, used to Alicia being a smart ass.

Echoing Alicia's earlier sentiment, Mira replies, "Can't wait," and exits the tent.

Alicia leans back on her cot, a slight smile on her face. It falls as she thinks about how long this has taken. She understands, to an extent, that Mira and Carter wanted to put on a good show of looking after the prisoner, that she needed to be kept for at least some period of time, but enough is enough.

She needs to get home, she needs to see Nathaniel again. The fact that he likely doesn't know she's alive continuously eats at her, almost to the point where she's making herself sick. The last time she was this worried about him, missed him this much, was when he'd first come through the portal and was trapped here alone. Forgetting her handcuff, she tries to jump up to pace, but the restraint immediately pulls her back down, making her swear under her breath.

She closes her eyes and runs her free hand through her hair. Knowing it's going to be a long, tedious day, Alicia rolls off of the cot to do the improvised pushups she figured out how to do while cuffed. At least she can burn off some energy and kill some time.

_Terra Nova_

Jim is waiting for Taylor when he and Dunham come roaring through the gate after two days OTG. They've managed to get through checking on nearly half of the southern outposts already, and they'll be headed back out tomorrow.

A dusty Taylor hauls himself up out of the driver's side of the rover, and Jim approaches, knowing Taylor will want an update on the colony and on Reynolds and Reilly's progress with the northern outposts. "Welcome back, Commander."

"Thanks, Shannon," Taylor looks over at Dunham. "Take it easy the rest of the day, son, and I'll see you here to head back out at ten hundred hours tomorrow."

Dunham gives Taylor a quick salute. "Yes, sir. I'll see you in the morning, sir." He heads off towards the barracks area.

"Any report from Reynolds, Shannon?" Taylor shoulders a bag and motions to Jim to follow him to the command center.

Jim falls into step next to him. "Yes. They hit their nearby outposts already, came in last night. There was little damage to the communications systems, but, for the most part, all the supplies are gone."

Taylor nods, mounting the steps to the command center. "Not surprised. It's similar at all the outposts we already checked. They must have left the communications intact thinking they'd be useful in the future."

"Reynolds thought the same thing."

They enter Taylor's office, and Taylor heads to his desk, dropping his bag next to his chair. He leans back against the desk. "Did Reynolds and Reilly already head back out?"

Jim follows Taylor, coming to a stop in front of the desk. "Yes. They loaded up what the recon team requested, and they're on their way to the northernmost outpost to meet up with them. Mark said they're going to wait for the recon team, just to be able to check on them face to face, to be sure they're all OK to stay out there."

"Sounds good. Anything else going on, Shannon?"

"No, it's actually been pretty quiet. Work is progressing on the repairs and clean up. Those crews should be done in the next week or so," Jim pauses, hesitating, "And Taylor, Elisabeth wants you at our house for dinner tonight."

Taylor is clearly about to decline, so Jim continues, "If you want to argue, talk to my wife. I'm just the messenger. When she told me, she muttered something about making it doctor's orders if necessary. She's worried about you, Taylor. Just let her feed you tonight, OK? To sweeten the deal, Maddy's the one doing most of the cooking. And her food is actually good."

Taylor looks stubborn for a moment, and then his expression softens. "All right, Shannon. I'll be there. What time?"

Jim gives him a relieved look, clearly happy he won't have to tell Elisabeth that Taylor had said no again. "Seven."

"I'll be there."

"Looking forward to it, Taylor. Zoe said something about you needing another hug, so, you know, be prepared for that too." Jim gives him a smile and turns to head out.

"Shannon?" Jim turns back. After a moment, Taylor says, "Thank you, and thank Elisabeth for me in advance. I do appreciate the concern."

"No problem, Taylor, and I'll pass that along to Elisabeth." Jim nods and disappears out the door.

Looking around his office, Taylor suddenly feels the desire to take the rest of the day off. He grabs his bag and heads out, thinking he'll stop in the market to get flowers for each of the Shannon women. If he's going to go over there tonight, he knows he needs to try to shoulder off the guilt and the melancholy for the night.

As he often does these days, he slips his hand into his pocket to grasp her tags, and he can't help but think that she'd be pissed at him for sitting around feeling sorry for himself. With that thought in mind, he walks towards the market, determined to actually attempt to be good company tonight.

_Phoenix Group Camp, The Badlands_

It's after one in the morning, and Alicia, now released from the handcuffs, stands up in Mira's tent, stretching out her back. Mira is perched on her own cot, giving Alicia the same last minute instructions she's given her twice already.

The chip with the frequencies for Boylan's communicators is tucked away, contrary to Mira's implication earlier, in a perfectly comfortable tear in the lining of the black jacket Mira gave her to slip on. They'd thought about getting her some sand colored clothes, to serve as camouflage, but there is almost no moon tonight, and her black clothes will actually blend in well.

"Wash, are you listening?" Mira sounds irritated. "I just asked you a question."

Alicia looks a little sheepish. "Sorry, Mira. I'm just getting focused. It's going to be a long night."

Mira gives a sardonic laugh. "For you and me both."

"Mira, we can still do this with drugs instead."

"No. It's fine. At least I get to hit you first." They'd agreed this evening that Mira needed to reopen Alicia's lip, get some blood on her hands. That way, if they check Mira's hands and test the blood, they'll be more likely to believe that a real altercation took place. And, if Alicia gets caught, the split to her lip will corroborate the story.

Alicia chuckles. "Speaking of which, it's almost time, isn't it?"

Mira smirks but then grows serious. "You better be worth the trust we're giving you, Wash. Carter and I both have a hell of a lot to lose here. We're risking everything, and truthfully, you're risking nothing."

"I know that, Mira. And I don't know if I'm worth it, but I know you don't need to worry about me betraying you. I won't," Alicia takes a deep breath, "Now let's get this show on the road."

With that, Mira nails Alicia in the mouth, splitting her lip wide open again. The blow actually makes Alicia see stars for a moment. She spits out some blood. "Damn it." Once her head stops buzzing, Alicia looks up. "Good one."

Mira just smirks, but Alicia can see anxiousness and fear behind the expression. In that moment, she decides that she has a way she can make Mira realize that Alicia herself has something to hide as well, that she has a secret she can give as a sort of guarantee. She just hopes that Nathaniel will understand why she decided to share it.

After wiping her lip clean, Alicia looks back up to catch Mira's eye. "Mira. Look, I know you and Carter are putting a lot of faith in me, and that it could cost you a lot if I screw you over," Mira's eyes narrow, "But I'm not going to. You know I can't promise you anything with regard to whether or not we'll welcome you back in Terra Nova, but I will promise you, I do promise you, that I'll never give you up to the Phoenix Group or Lucas, and neither will Nathaniel."

Mira scowls at that. "I believe you for you, but you really think you can keep Taylor from it?"

"I know I can." Mira looks incredulous, so Alicia goes on, "I'm going to tell you something, Mira, something only three people outside of Nathaniel and I know."

"OK, you have a secret. How will that change anything?"

"This secret is something big, something people who want to hurt us could exploit." Alicia takes a deep breath, "One month ago tomorrow, Taylor and I, we, well…"

"Spit it out, Wash." Mira is starting to sound impatient.

"We got married, Mira. We decided that if Hope Plaza ever got wind of our relationship and decided to challenge us about it, we'd be better positioned to fight back if we were married. Right now, the only people who know are Malcolm and two of our soldiers. No one else in the entire colony knows."

Mira stares at Alicia, clearly shocked by her admission. "But you still had separate housing. We know that because I searched his house and your house."

"Yeah, that was an issue between us. We couldn't decide how open to be in the colony. With everything going on, we'd just temporarily tabled the issue. Somehow, moving in together was scarier to us than getting married." Alicia shakes her head.

"Well damn, Wash. That is not what I expected, but I can definitely see how it could be exploited. And it would make Lucas even crazier than he already is." Mira still looks dumbfounded.

Alicia nods and glances at her watch. "You told me yours, and now I've told you mine. And it's after 1:30, so I guess this is it."

As Alicia bends down to get her jacket, Mira says, "You know, you didn't have to tell me that, Alicia, but I appreciate the trust."

Alicia nods. "Are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be to get beaten up and not fight back. And by the way, Wash, tell Taylor I said congratulations."

Alicia laughs, and then she shoots Mira an apologetic look before throwing her elbow hard into Mira's face.

Five minutes later, Wash slips out the back of Mira's tent, and she's booking it away from the camp. She is surprised by how bad she feels about leaving Mira unconscious and bleeding in the tent, but she knows it had to happen.

After dodging a few Phoenix patrols, she arrives at the place where she was told to meet Carter, a grouping of large rocks about a mile from the camp. The patrols stopped at about half a mile out, so she feels sure they are far enough out.

She picks her way through the rocks until a voice makes her jump. "Hey, Wash."

"Damn it, Carter, you scared the crap out of me."

He laughs softly. "Good to know I'm actually able to sneak up on you. Come on, follow me."

She does so, tracking his path through the rocks, until they get to the end of them, with nothing but arid land between them and the beginnings of the forested area. In the shadows, she sees the dim outline of a motorcycle, one suspiciously similar to the ones they use in the colony.

"Yes, Wash, we stole a few of these when we left. That's why it looks familiar. We're just letting you steal it back."

Alicia rolls her eyes even though she knows he can't see it in the dark. She remembers that the bike usually has saddlebags. She walks over to it, and she sees that they're there. "What all do I have?"

He opens the bag on the right side and pulls out two guns, one a pulse weapon and the other a conventional handgun. He passes them to her with two holsters, one for her thigh and one for her shoulder. She straps the stun weapon to her shoulder and the other to her leg. "There are extra ammo clips in the bag, along with a decent knife. The other bag has water and a small amount of food. You don't have too far to go, so it should be enough."

She throws a leg over the bike and hits the ignition. In the low light from the power gauge on the bike, she can see his face. "Thank you, Carter."

He hands her a pair of protective glasses. "Don't thank me, Wash, just come through for us." She nods and slips on the glasses as he says, "The outpost is due south of here, but once you're to the forest, kick southwest for a few clicks and then go back to the east. We went through some slasher territory with the convoy. Since we need you to make it home in one piece, it's probably best that you avoid it. If you push hard, you should get to the outpost by mid-morning, even with the detour."

"Will do. Be careful, Carter, you and Mira both. And tell her I said I'm sorry about the headache she's going to have. Hopefully, I'll be talking to you soon." With that, she guns the bike and takes off, quickly disappearing into the inky night.


	5. Chapter 5

Shooting through the trees as quickly as she can, Alicia decides she's probably only a few clicks from the outpost by now. Giving her watch a quick check, she sees that it's just past nine in the morning. She figures that the alarm for her "escape" from Mira was probably sounded two or three hours ago. Hopefully, her head start will be enough to save her from any pursuers the Phoenix Group might send.

Just in case, she's been on guard for a while, knowing there might be Phoenix Group recon teams out here that Mira and Carter didn't know about. The going has been somewhat slow, just because of the unfamiliar terrain, and for quite a bit of her trip because of the darkness. Her bike has a small, dim headlight, but it had been nearly useless out in the desert area in particular. That had been a very tense few miles, praying that she wouldn't hit a rock or creature that she couldn't see.

Luckily, she hasn't seen many predators, dinosaur or otherwise. She'd been more concerned about that before the sun came up, but honestly, while many of the dinos are considered nocturnal, she's not counting on that. The comforting weight of the guns at her shoulder and on her thigh do reassure her, though, that she can defend herself if the need arises.

She has only stopped once, on a small rise just after sunrise, just to take a quick pit stop, check the bike over, drink some water and eat a little and get her bearings. She's also transferred the extra ammo clips for her gun from the saddlebag into the pocket of her jacket. Otherwise, she has been moving since she drove away from Carter over seven hours ago.

The one part of the plan that was and still is nebulous at best is what to do when she gets to the outpost. She's banking on the communications equipment still being there and still being operational. If it's not, she's going to have to make a run for the colony, especially if it looks like the communications equipment was intentionally damaged. If that's the case, she has to assume it will be the same at the other outposts, so the colony will be her safest bet. Safe, of course, being an entirely relative term, since that path potentially includes predators like carnos.

If the communications equipment is still working, she's going to contact the colony, but hell if she knows exactly what to say. She just hopes that they believe it's her. Given that she has to assume that the Phoenix Group is likely chasing her, she doesn't plan to stay long at the outpost anyway. She'll likely move on towards the colony no matter what, as she's not willing to be a sitting duck.

Getting to a lengthy open space in the woods, Alicia suddenly realizes that's she's finally in familiar territory. She helped scout this area when they picked the site for the outpost. Relaxing a little, she slows slightly, looking up and catching a glimpse of the outpost through the trees, less than a quarter mile away. She sighs in relief, but then movement to her right catches her eye.

"Shit." She only has a moment to gun the engine and swerve to the left before a slasher bursts through the underbrush. The damned thing is heading straight for her, and even as she avoids it and its deadly tail, she thinks that they always travel in, at a minimum, pairs.

She knows it will take the first one some time to rebuild momentum to chase her, but she also knows she isn't in the clear until she's inside the outpost, now less than an eighth of a mile away. Keeping one hand on the handlebars of the bike, she drops her right hand to the holstered gun on her thigh.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the expected second slasher appears, and she's not fast enough this time. She feels its tail slice through her left calf, hitting the bike as well. The engine dies immediately, and she knows it hit the fuel cells. Ignoring the screaming pain in her leg, she lays the bike down on its left side, pulling out the gun and unloading the clip into the slasher as it charges.

At the outpost, Reynolds looks up at the sound of an engine followed by the sound of something crashing through the trees and gunfire. "Reilly!" he yells, grabbing a rifle from the back of the rover and heading towards the sounds, thinking that it's probably their recon team. He can hear Reilly not far behind him as he runs.

The slasher lets out a screech as it's riddled with bullets from Alicia's gun. It pauses, and that gives her a chance to drop the spent clip and slam in a second one. As the slasher starts towards her again, she has a clean shot this time. In quick succession, she fires three times into the creature's skull, and it drops lifeless to the ground.

Knowing the first one is likely still nearby, she extricates herself from her wrecked bike. She stands up quickly, gun drawn, weight mostly on her right leg. She looks up as she hears someone running through the trees, heading for her. She expects to see the slasher burst forth from the treeline, but she's stunned when Reynolds emerges instead, followed closely by Reilly.

Alicia watches as Mark quickly surveys the area, "Too quickly," she thinks, and he freezes as his eyes land on her. He stops moving and Reilly almost runs into him. Hearing movement in the brush again, Alicia realizes with dread that the first slasher is coming up behind Reynolds and Reilly.

She doesn't stop to think, just runs straight at the two of them gun drawn. To her dismay, it becomes clear that Reynolds and Reilly are completely unaware of the danger. Their focus is on her. The slasher charges, and Alicia yells, "Reynolds, Reilly, down! Now!"

They both blink and then drop, figuring out that the slasher is on them. Its tail whips out at them, missing them both by inches as they go down to the ground, and Alicia slides to a stop and once again empties her gun. She's farther away from this one, so the bullets do less to slow it down. She's reloading as it charges, and she knows it's probably too late.

Two rifle blasts sound from behind the slasher, and it drops in front of her, dead. Alicia breathes a sigh of relief, and she can feel the adrenaline rush subside. The pain takes over, making her sag to the ground, her left leg giving out completely.

A moment later, she sees Mark run up to her, skidding to a stop and dropping to his knees. He reaches out as if to touch her, but he hesitates. "Wash, are you real?"

She huffs out a laugh and leans into him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "Yeah, kid, I'm real, and I don't think I've ever been happier to see you in my life." With that, he hugs her to him so tight that it's hard to breathe, but she doesn't mind.

"How?" Reilly's voice gets both of their attention, and they pull apart.

Both Reynolds and Reilly look at her questioningly, but Alicia shakes her head and says, "It's a long story, one we really don't have time for. We need to get out of here. Now. Help me up."

That seems to shake both of them out of their shock. Reilly bends to look at Alicia's leg. "How bad did it get you, Lieutenant?"

"Not too bad, but you can look it over in the rover. You do have a rover, right?"

Reynolds nods, getting to his feet and then helping Alicia up. He gets on her left side to support her so they can move without putting her left foot down.

"Not that you being here didn't just make my day, but why are you two here?" Alicia's voice is strained, her leg killing her.

Reynolds keeps moving as he replies, "We're checking out all of the outposts, but we're here today to meet the recon team for resupply."

"The team you had on the Phoenix Group camp in the Badlands?" Mark grunts an affirmative. "Pretty sure they won't be showing up today."

This makes both Reilly and Reynolds stop and give her another questioning look. "The Phoenix guys made the recon team yesterday. They're moving the camp today because of it, so I'm assuming the team will try to follow the convoy. And we need to keep moving."

They get to the outpost a moment later, and Reynolds helps Alicia lean against the hood of the rover so he and Reilly can stow their rifles in the rover. "Just drop the supplies inside the outpost. We can't stay here." Alicia can't help but slip back into her command role.

"What's going on, Wash?" Reynolds asks, coming to stand in front of her as Reilly goes to lock up the outpost.

Reilly returns a moment later, so Alicia explains, "I probably got a head start of four or five hours, but the Phoenix Group may be chasing. Since this outpost would be my obvious destination, I'd prefer not to be here if they do show up. I also don't know if they have any recon teams of their own out and about."

"OK, Lieutenant," Reilly agrees, "Then I need you in the back so I can look at your leg."

Alicia starts to argue, but the looks she gets from both Reynolds and Reilly make her stop. She just nods and lets Mark help her into the back. Mark leans down to see in the back seat. "What about your bike?"

She shakes her head. "Slasher got the fuel cells. It's a loss, at least for now. Leave it, and we'll get it when a team comes back here, if it looks salvageable."

With a quick nod, Mark moves away to let Reilly jump in the back with Alicia. He hops in the front and a moment later, they are speeding towards the colony. Alicia cringes as Reilly rolls up her pant leg to take a look at the wound. "How bad?" She grits out the words.

Reilly looks up at her. "I've seen a lot worse. Maybe fifteen, twenty stitches. I'm just going to wrap it tight now, though. Unless the bleeding worsens, it can wait until we get home."

Mark's voice comes from the front, yelling so they can hear him. "We need to radio ahead, Wash. What do you want me to tell them?"

Alicia hesitates momentarily before yelling back, "Tell them you're coming in with an injury to a member of the recon team. Don't tell them about me. If the Phoenix Group is listening, I don't want them to know I'm with you."

"Yes, ma'am." She hears him radio the message, unable to make out the words over the roar of the rover's engine and the noise generated by them moving so fast. As Reilly wraps her leg in a tight bandage, the vibration of the ride combined with the realization that she is actually headed home makes all of the tension ebb out of her. Though she tries hard to stay awake, it's a losing battle, and within moments, she slips into a fitful sleep.

"Terra Nova, this is Reynolds. ETA two minutes. Please open the gate when we're in sight and clear a path to the infirmary for our wounded. Mr. Shannon, please meet us there."

Alicia jumps at Reynolds' yelled message to the colony. She looks up to see her injured leg cradled in Reilly's lap. Reilly smirks. "Welcome home, ma'am. And yes, you slept the whole way."

Still a little groggy, Alicia focuses on something Reynolds said. "Mark asked for Shannon to meet us at the infirmary. Where's Nathaniel?"

"The commander and Dunham are OTG checking other outposts, ma'am. Reynolds and I decided it would be better to call him once we're inside the gate." As she speaks, Reilly is placing the first aid gear back in the supply bag that's kept stored in the rover.

Alicia looks out of the rover to see them pass through the gate into the colony, heading for the infirmary. They skid to a stop in front of the building, and Alicia sees Shannon jog up as Elisabeth emerges. Mark jumps out of the rover, followed by Reilly.

When Reilly is out of the way, Mark leans down to scoop up Alicia and pull her out of the back seat, giving her a look that tells her not to fight him on carrying her. She doesn't argue, but only because her leg is literally throbbing. As Mark straightens up with her in his arms, Alicia hears Reilly say, "Mr. Shannon, Doc, this is going to be a surprise, and Mr. Shannon, we need the commander back here ASAP."

Despite Reilly's warning, when Jim and Elisabeth see her, they both turn pale in shock. Alicia gives them a wry smile. "Hey guys. Long time, no see." She can see them both struggling for words, and Alicia wants to cut off as many questions as possible. "Like I told Reynolds and Reilly here, it's a long story. I'm sure everyone is curious, but I need to talk to Nathaniel first. Please."

Jim looks unhappy at that, but Elisabeth just nods briskly and says, "Mark, please take the Lieutenant to the private exam room at the back of the infirmary. I'll be there in a moment." As Mark follows Elisabeth's instructions, carrying her inside, Alicia hears Elisabeth say, "Jim, get Taylor back here now!"

"Already on my way to communications, Liz. I'll be back soon."

The next half hour is something of a blur to Alicia. While she doesn't tell Elisabeth many details, she does share enough to help with Elisabeth's examination. As Elisabeth runs a scan on her, Alicia quietly asks, "I can see that you and Shannon are OK, but Elisabeth, are the kids OK too?"

Elisabeth drops her head briefly. When she looks back up at Alicia, she has tears in her eyes. Her voice is quiet when she speaks. "They're all fine, Alicia. Thanks to you. I don't know how we can ever repay…"

The scan is done, so Alicia reaches out and grips Elisabeth's hand, making Elisabeth stop speaking. "There's no need. It was the right thing to do, and I'd do it again." With a watery smile and a nod, Elisabeth reaches out and hugs Alicia. "I'm going to have to deal with a lot of hugging for the next few days, aren't I?"

Elisabeth laughs and releases her. "Yes, Alicia. I fear you're not going to get away with stoic and reserved, at least not for a while. We may actually end up having to use a crow bar to pry Zoe off of you."

Alicia laughs softly at that, and then they both fall silent. "Is Jim getting Nathaniel?"

"He is, but Taylor's probably an hour or so out. I don't think Jim will say it's you – he knows Taylor might try to get back here so fast that he'd accidentally kill himself and take Dunham with him." Elisabeth gives Alicia's shoulder a squeeze.

Nodding, Alicia sinks back into the pillow behind her. Elisabeth says, "Rest, Alicia. I'll get your leg cleaned up. Other than your split lip and a few scrapes, you seem to be OK. I can see that you had a concussion, but it looks like you're fine now. Any headaches or memory loss? And do you know how long you were out?"

"Yes on the headaches, but it's been a couple of days. No memory loss, and I was out for two days."

Elisabeth hums at that, but she doesn't say anything. As Elisabeth works on her leg, Alicia feels herself dropping off again. Elisabeth looks up at her. "I gave you something for the pain. You needed it, so don't complain. Go to sleep. It wasn't too strong – you won't have any trouble waking up when he gets here."

Despite her irritation with Elisabeth for dosing her without asking, she has to admit that the pain in her leg dying back is pretty damned nice. Once again, as someone works on her leg, she loses the battle to stay awake.

An hour later, Jim and Elisabeth are in Elisabeth's office in the infirmary, waiting for Taylor. They gave Reynolds, Reilly and all the infirmary staff strict orders to not mention the identity of their patient to anyone. They look up, their eyes meeting as they hear Taylor's voice. "What is so important that I needed to come back in, you two? This will set me back a day."

"It'll set you back more than one," Jim mutters, earning him a kick from Elisabeth.

She stands up and takes Taylor's arm, leading him towards the back of the infirmary with Jim trailing behind them. When they get to Alicia's room, Elisabeth turns and faces Taylor. "Before you go in here," she motions to the door of the exam room with her head, "I want to make two things clear: one, other than a new gash from a slasher and a pretty serious case of exhaustion, she's completely fine; and two, she should stay here tonight, but if you two insist on leaving, I'll require a guarantee from you both that she will take it easy."

Taylor looks puzzled, but he nods. "OK, Doc, but what the hell is going on?"

"Just go in there, Taylor. You'll understand." Elisabeth turns and heads back to her office, pushing Jim in front of her.

Shaking his head, Taylor knocks lightly on the door in front of him. Getting no response, he carefully pushes the door open. He sees a figure on the bed, bandaged left leg propped up on a pillow. Her back is to him, so he enters the room, pulling the door behind him. As he approaches the bed, the person shifts, and long, black hair fans out on the pillow, making him freeze.

He takes a deep breath, telling himself that his mind is playing tricks on him. He steps around the bed so he can see her face, and he can literally feel time stop. His eyes widen, and he continues towards her. Sinking down onto the stool next to the bed, he stares at her face, knowing it isn't possible.

Almost on autopilot, he reaches out and sweeps a lock of hair out of her eyes. The light touch makes her jump, and her eyes blink open as he withdraws his hand. After a moment, her gaze lands on his face, and tears immediately spring to her eyes. Her own hand shoots out and catches his as he withdraws, and she breathes out his name. "Nathaniel."

He blinks, staring down at her as if he's seen a ghost, which he basically has. He squeezes her hand in his and reaches out with his other hand, burying it in her hair. "Alicia?" His voice is barely above a whisper.

She can't hold back the tears. A few roll down her cheeks as she reaches up with her own free hand and cups his cheek. She nods mutely, suddenly feeling unable to trust her own voice.

Her nod is clearly good enough for him, and he shifts up to sit on the bed, dragging her to him in a hug even tighter than the hug she got from Reynolds at the outpost. She feels him actually start to shake in her arms, and guilt washes over her. "Nathaniel, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't contact you, sorry to put you through this. I've been going crazy wanting to get back here, and I would've been here sooner if I could have…"

Instead of interrupting or replying, he just crushes his lips to hers in the fiercest kiss she's ever experienced. She finds herself clinging to him, and he clings to her in return. After a minute or so, he pulls just far enough away to press his forehead to hers. She still hangs onto him, and she feels him move.

Opening her eyes, she sees him reach into his pocket and pull out what looks like a set of dog tags. It only takes her a moment to realize that they're hers and to notice the two small objects attached to them.

He removes the two objects and pulls away just enough to slip the chain with her tags over her head. She looks down at the objects in his hand, and then she smiles up at him through her tears. She takes the larger of the two objects, and he gives her his left hand. Growing serious, she slides the wedding ring onto his ring finger, and then he, in turn, puts her ring on her.

Being careful of her leg, he shifts further onto the bed, leaning back against the headboard and pulling her into his lap. He presses another brief, intense kiss to her mouth, and then he wraps his arms around her waist and buries his face in her neck. She wraps one arm around him, and the other moves up so that she can run her hand through his hair.

A moment later, she feels him lift his head, and she hears his gravelly voice. "You know I may never let you out of my sight again, right?"

She smiles and tightens her hand in his hair. "No arguments from me, Nathaniel," she pauses, "Don't you want to know what happened?"

"Yes, but it can wait."

She nods and carefully pulls her legs up, snuggling even closer into his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. An hour later, Elisabeth goes to check on them, and she finds them that way, both of them sound asleep. She leaves them alone, walking back to her office, muttering quietly under her breath. "Guess I get to keep her overnight after all."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer wise, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.**

Alicia wakes up feeling a little groggy, trying to figure out where she is. She takes a deep breath, and in it she can smell a strange combination of leather and antiseptic. When she opens her eyes, she sees a black t-shirt and a strong neck, and the memories from the night before hit her.

She's home. Specifically, she's curled up in Nathaniel's lap. Checking her watch, she's surprised to see that it's almost eight in the morning. She leans back to peer at his face, and seeing that he's still asleep, she lowers her head again and nuzzles her face into his neck, lightly nipping at a spot just beyond the edge of his beard.

A moment later, she feels him shift under her. A chuckle rumbles in his chest. "Are you trying to get fresh with me, Lieutenant?"

She kisses the spot where she'd just been nipping before murmuring, "If you have to ask, I think I'm doing it wrong."

With a laugh, he turns his head and catches her lips with his, a gentle, slow kiss very different from the intense, desperate kisses they exchanged the night before. When they pull apart, he uses one hand to gently brush her hair out of her eyes. "You know, I'm just going to have to keep kissing you until I really believe that you're real."

She smiles. "I can live with that, but you do realize that the cat will be entirely out of the bag if you do that, say, in the middle of the market."

He turns serious. "Well, considering that you're moving in with me, I don't think PDAs will be our biggest giveaway."

"I'm sorry?" She sits up and away from him, giving him a questioning look.

He pulls her back against him. "You heard me. You may recall that I told you I might never let you out of my sight again, and you promised no arguments." She starts to protest, but he goes on, "We've waited long enough, Alicia. We let our concern over flack from Hope Plaza control us. That doesn't exist anymore. And you know that the colonists won't care. Just because only a few people know about our relationship and even fewer know about our marriage, that doesn't mean that people haven't speculated for years."

"But what about the military, Nathaniel?"

"Guz, Reynolds and Reilly all know about us, and they seem fine with it. And anyone with a problem can just adjust." He gives her his determined look, the one that tells her he won't be backing down.

"It's easier for you, Nathaniel, as the man and the superior officer. I have to train the guys, lead them, and I can't be perceived as the chick who's banging the boss."

He frowns at her. "Stop right there. No one will think of you like that, and you know it. The soldiers all respect you, and after what you did for the Shannons, I'd go so far as to say they kind of worship you, idolize you. You don't have anything to worry about. And anyway, you're pretty much moved in with me already."

Once again, she gives him a questioning look. He hesitates, and the flash of pain she sees in his eyes worries her. "Nathaniel, what's wrong?"

"You were…gone, and we realized that some of the colonists' housing was damaged. Since we needed to concentrate construction efforts on repairing our defenses first, we gave your house to a family that needed one."

"Oh," she says quietly. She goes silent, not sure what to say.

"Alicia?"

She shakes her head and looks down. "I didn't think about this part very much, the coming back from the dead part. I was so focused on getting home, getting back to you. I honestly only considered how my being dead would impact you. I never thought about what this would be like for me, and I'm a little ashamed to admit that I also never thought about the impact on the colony."

"Hey." She doesn't look up, so he puts his hand on her chin and tips her face up to his, dropping a soft kiss on her lips. "To a person, the people here will be very happy to have you back. I'd venture a guess that the family in your house will even try to give it back to you."

She gives him a weak smile at that. "That's not necessary, Nathaniel. You're right. We've waited enough. I don't know why this scares me so much."

He hugs her tight to him, and they go quiet again. Then, a thought occurs to her. "You said I'm already moved in with you. What does that mean?"

"I couldn't stand the thought of your things being packed away in a storage locker somewhere, but we had to clean out your house for the new tenants. Reynolds and Reilly helped me pack everything up, and we moved it all to my house. I started to go through some of it. I hope that's OK." He suddenly sounds uncharacteristically nervous.

"Of course it's OK." She feels him relax underneath her. "So, it waited, but I need tell you what happened to me, Nathaniel." She pushes away from him again so she can see his face.

He nods and shifts slightly away from her, letting her sit on the bed and stretch her legs out. She winces slightly at the pull in her injured leg. "Do I need to go get Elisabeth first?"

She shakes her head. "No. It's all right, just a little tight." She looks up at him and starts talking, giving him a very detailed version of her last several days – everyone else will get a much more truncated story.

The only things she doesn't mention are Lucas hitting her not long after she woke up and telling Mira about their marriage. On the latter, she wants to tell him when they're at home later; on the former, she doesn't want to tell him at all. Everything that happened between him and Lucas is bad enough. She doesn't want to add to that.

Unfortunately, she forgot who she was talking to. When she finishes, she expects questions, but his first one surprises her. "Did you say Lucas' shot caught your left temple?"

"Yes, I mean, at least I think that's where it hit. Why?" She's confused about why he's asking about that.

"Then how did you get the shiner on your right eye? It's at least a few days old, so you had to have gotten it not long after you woke up."

She starts to speak, but she isn't sure how to answer. She doesn't want to lie to him, but she knows the truth will bother him.

"Alicia?" He regards her closely, sure that she's holding something back. "What is it that you're not telling me?" As she hesitates, his expression turns from questioning to realization. "Lucas gave you that, didn't he?"

"Yes." She nods reluctantly. "I was a little sarcastic with him, and he didn't particularly appreciate it."

"I thought you said Mira kept him away from you."

She sighs. "She did. The guard misunderstood who was allowed into the truck where they had me before the tents went up, but Mira stopped him from doing any more than this and my lip."

"I thought Mira busted your lip before you escaped?" He looks confused.

"She did, but she just reopened it. Anyway, I didn't see him again. Mira told me he was busy looking for the alternate portal."

They both look up when they hear a knock at the door, and a moment later, Elisabeth comes in trailed closely by Jim. "Good morning. How is your leg, Alicia?"

Nathaniel slides off of the bed as Elisabeth approaches, and he steps aside to let her get close to check Alicia's slasher wound. "It's sore, but I think the repair held well."

Elisabeth hums quietly in response, peeling back the covering to look at the wound. "You're right, it looks good." Elisabeth re-covers the wound, and Alicia turns on the bed, hanging her legs off of the side. Then, Elisabeth turns to Nathaniel. "And since you never came in for your follow up, how is your side feeling, Commander?"

Alicia shoots him an alarmed look. "What's wrong with your side?"

"He took a knife there," Jim pipes up from the corner, earning him a murderous look from Taylor.

"Nathaniel, you've been OTG and you let me sleep _on_ you when you have a damned knife wound? Are you crazy? What were you thinking?" Alicia motions with her hand as she speaks, and Taylor looks somewhat sheepish but mostly stubborn.

"What the hell is that?" Jim's voice makes all three of them look up at him, and he marches straight up to Alicia and grabs her left hand, holding it up so that Elisabeth and Taylor can see it.

All of them are surprised by Jim's outburst, but Taylor recovers first. "It's a wedding ring."

Jim rolls his eyes. "I can see that it's a wedding ring, but why the hell is Wash wearing it?"

Alicia looks at him with one eyebrow arched. "Think real hard, Shannon."

As usual, Elisabeth is a little quicker on the uptake than her husband. "When did that happen?"

"One month ago," Alicia replies and then looks back at Taylor, "Let me see your side."

He crosses his arms over his chest. "It's fine, Alicia. Doesn't even hurt anymore."

"Well then, letting me see it should be no big thing, Nathaniel," she retorts, mirroring his pose, arms crossed, looking just as stubborn as he does.

"You're getting mighty close to insubordination there, Lieutenant." His voice has a warning tone.

She narrows her eyes at him. "Well then, letting me see it should be no big thing, _sir_."

Elizabeth clears her throat, but Alicia and Nathaniel keep their eyes on each other, a clear battle of wills. "Alicia, as I said, your leg looks fine." When Alicia remains silent and focused on Nathaniel, Elizabeth walks over to Jim and begins to push him towards the door. "I'll just be back later, then."

"I want to stay for this!" Jim protests as his wife continues shoving him out the door, which she closes behind them.

For a moment, they continue to stare at each other. Then, she sees one side of his mouth start to quirk a small smile, and his eyes begin to sparkle with what appears to be amusement. He also seems to be fighting to hold back a laugh. She furrows her brow at him in confusion, and his stern façade completely crumbles.

He steps back over to the bed, sits down beside her and wraps her up in a hug, arms tight around her and face pressed into her hair. She tenses in surprise, having no idea what to make of his behavior until he says, voice muffled, "God, I missed you."

She relaxes immediately, wrapping her arms around his waist and huffing out a small laugh. "I missed you, too. Verbally sparring with Mira was OK, but she doesn't have anything on you." They sit like that for a while, not speaking, until Alicia can't help but break the silence. "I still want to see your side, though." Alicia is pretty sure that his bark of laughter can be heard all the way down the hall.

*****

An hour later, they're making their way home from the infirmary. Elisabeth let Alicia go, but with strict instructions to get off of her leg as soon as she gets home. They'd also had Reynolds and Reilly get the word out that she is alive and well, so that people won't think they're seeing some sort of ghost when Alicia walks, or, more precisely, limps out of the infirmary.

They also made sure that part of the message to the colonists and military was a request to give them space, that Alicia was still recovering. For the most part, as they walk towards home, people are respecting that request. Some just stare, and others offer cautious waves and smiles.

They're within a hundred feet of Nathaniel's house when they hear a cry of, "Lieutenant Wash!" and then a small blur collides with her legs, making her gasp a little in pain. She looks down to see the youngest Shannon clinging to her, and she doesn't have the heart to scold the child. Instead, she leans down and scoops her up, letting her hug as much as she wants. "Hi, Zoe."

"They told us at school that you're back, and I ran here fast as I could. Maddy's gonna be mad at me, because I ran ahead of her, but I wanted to see you and give you a hug like I gave Commander Taylor when you died." Alicia blinks at the child's rapid delivery, more what she'd expect from Maddy as opposed to Zoe.

A moment later, Maddy appears, calling for Zoe. She spots the three of them, and like her younger sister had, she barrels towards Alicia. Seeing the rapid approach of another virtual tackle hug, Alicia shifts and passes Zoe to Nathaniel, who laughs softly as Maddy collides with Alicia, wrapping her arms around her and clinging on.

In something of a role reversal, Maddy is nearly silent, just offering a whispered, "Thank you," before starting to cry on Alicia's shoulder.

Instead of arguing, as she usually would, that no thanks are needed, Alicia just quietly replies, "You're welcome, Maddy," and lets the girl cry until it's nothing more than small sniffles.

Eventually, Maddy steps back, rubbing at her eyes and taking Zoe's hand. With a weak smile, she starts to lead Zoe away, but Zoe runs back to Alicia. Stopping in front of her, she tilts her head up. "Lieutenant Wash, do you like cookies?"

Alicia shoots a puzzled look at Nathaniel, who just shrugs with a bemused smile. She looks back down at Zoe. "Sure, honey, I love cookies."

"Good!" Zoe smiles and claps her hands. She then runs back to Maddy, saying, "Maddy, we have to make Lieutenant Wash and Mister Taylor cookies. Let's go!"

After a moment of silence, Alicia says, "Well, in terms of the level of enthusiasm I get when greeted, I'm guessing it's pretty much all downhill from here."

Nathaniel chuckles at that, and, putting his hand on the small of her back, he propels her towards home again. "I admit I'm surprised that the more emotional response came from Maddy, but I've never pretended to understand women."

Alicia snorts. "You do OK. Is Jim getting Guz, Malcolm and Boylan so we can talk about the potential intel we'll be getting from the Sixers and about the communicators?"

They arrive at the house. "Yes. We're all meeting here at 2 this afternoon."

She nods and then lets out a squeak as Nathaniel sweeps her up into his arms and carries her into the house. "Nathaniel! What are you doing?"

Wearing an almost feral grin, he replies, "Aren't I supposed to carry you across the threshold at some point?" Without putting her down, he goes straight towards the bedroom.

"Nathaniel, if the others are coming over…"

"It's only ten thirty. We've got time to kill, Mrs. Taylor. Do you have a better idea as to activities?"

More thankful than ever to be home, she just laughs as he deposits her on the bed and kicks the bedroom door closed behind them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you to everyone reading and commenting! Only one more chapter after this one, but I have more stories I'll be posting (all are in the same context, relationship wise, as this one). I'll likely go ahead and post the final chapter of this tonight. Next up will be a story of how they originally got together (called **_**118 Days Later**_**). **

**Disclaimer wise, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.**

A couple of hours later, Alicia is rooting through the kitchen to see if Nathaniel has anything even remotely edible on hand. He doesn't, which makes her worry about how well he's been taking care of himself since they returned to the colony. She runs a hand through her damp hair, pausing to twist it up into a loose knot, thinking about the morning.

After their, to borrow Nathaniel's word, _activities_, she'd taken the opportunity to tell him that Mira knows they're married. She was a little surprised when he reacted with understanding more than anything else. He'd just said that he got why she'd wanted to reassure Mira, and that in the end, the show of trust could work in their favor, making Mira more confident in their own trustworthiness.

Not long after that, they'd both fallen asleep. She'd actually woken up half an hour later, only to find him wrapped so tight around her she could barely breathe. She'd wanted to let him sleep, but, looking at the clock, she'd also realized that she had time for her first real shower in over a week.

Carefully, she'd attempted to slip out of his arms, but he wouldn't loosen his grip on her, even deeply asleep. She'd been torn between her significant longing to stand under the pounding hot water for a while and letting him sleep, only because she could see how exhausted he was.

She'd considered it for a few moments, and her desire for a shower had won out. She'd tried a little more forcefully to wriggle out of his grasp, and he had stirred, mumbling, "Where're you going? Stay with me."

Her heart had broken a little at the almost pleading note in his voice. Leaning up and kissing the underside of his chin, she'd replied, "Not far, just to the shower," she'd kissed him again, this time softly on the lips, "You sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up, I promise."

At that, he'd released her, and, after watching him sleep for a moment or two, she'd headed for the shower. After a brief stop at the boxes in the living room, she'd made her way to the bathroom for the shower she'd been fantasizing about.

She jumps when a pair of strong arms, his arms, encircle her waist from behind and pull her to his chest. "Damn it, Nathaniel, could you make some noise when you walk? Otherwise, I'm going to have to put a bell on you."

He laughs and nuzzles her neck, his beard scratching the sensitive skin, making her shiver. "Sorry."

"No you're not."

"You're right, I'm really not." He's still laughing, and then she feels him bury his face in her hair and take a deep breath. "You smell like you again."

"I found the box of my bathroom stuff. Found my clothes, too," she motions to the fitted t-shirt and fatigues she put on after her shower, "You're going to have to make some space for me in the closet, you know."

"An assignment I'm more than happy to carry out," he turns her in his arms, "Now, I'm afraid to tell you there's pretty much no food here at all, because I know it'll worry you and you'll want to lecture me. But we've got people coming over here soon and don't have time for lectures. So, I'll go get us some lunch from the market, and you can lecture me later, OK?"

She snorts. "Fair enough. I'll stay here and tidy up a bit. And, just out of curiosity, is there a reason we're all meeting up here instead of the command center?"

He leans down and drops a kiss on her forehead. "I figured one trip through the market as today's most-talked-about topic would be enough for you for one day."

Cringing, she nods. "Good point. Who all will be here?"

"Boylan, Malcolm, Guz, Shannon, Reynolds and Reilly. I think that should cover all of the bases, both for the story of what happened and the plan going forward with Mira and Carter, not to mention going public with our relationship."

"Yeah, that last part is going to be fun." She rolls her eyes.

He arches an eyebrow at her. "Cold feet after the fact, Lieutenant?"

Her eyes widen in surprise. "No! Of course not, Nathaniel. I'm just used to this being ours, you know? Private. I don't need it hidden, but going public like this, well," she pauses, hesitating, and he gives her an expectant look. "Damn it, the women of this colony are not going to leave me alone. They're going to want to throw a party and hug me and possibly try to make me wear some sort of fluffy dress. And that stuff? _Not_ OK."

She sees from his face that he's trying very hard to suppress a laugh at her scandalized expression and exasperated tone. She gives him a warning look, and in what is likely a calculated move in the interest of self-preservation, he says, "And that's my cue to go see about lunch." He bolts for the door, but before he leaves completely, he leans back in briefly and offers, "But I think you'd look very pretty in a fluffy dress."

As one of her combat boots thunks off of the now-closed front door, she can hear his bark of laughter from all the way outside.

*****

Not too much later, the expected people begin assembling in what is now _their_ living room. While Nathaniel had been at the market getting lunch, and, as a peace offering, some of her favorite flowers and something to cook for dinner, she had dragged a few kitchen chairs into the room to make sure there were enough places for people to sit.

She also had gotten into the boxes of her things and pulled out her favorite afghan from her old sofa and thrown it across the back of his. She found some simple candles and some pictures, which were now placed around the room. When he'd gotten back from the market, he had looked around the room at the changes and just smiled and handed her the flowers he'd bought. The floral token had sent her back to her boxes in search of a vase, and the arrangement now sits in the middle of the kitchen table.

When Shannon arrives, she's surprised that he has Elisabeth with him. She explains, "I wanted to check on your leg, and I'm also hoping you'll give us a little more information on what happened to you."

Alicia nods and leads Elisabeth to the bedroom, plopping down on the very rumpled bed and rolling up her pant leg to let Elisabeth get to the slasher wound. Elisabeth eyes the bed and laughs. "You know, I have to admit that I am amused by how the two of you define 'taking it easy.'"

Shrugging, Alicia blushes lightly. "Glad we're here as your comic relief, Elisabeth."

"As am I, Alicia," Elisabeth replies. Her tone is semi-serious, making Alicia bite back any further sarcastic replies. "This looks fine, Alicia. As I'm sure you already know, just be careful of it and keep it clean and dry, and it should be fine."

As Elisabeth speaks, Alicia hears a knock at the front door, and then she hears Boylan's and Malcolm's voices asking where she is. Alicia gives Elisabeth a knowing look, and, as she rolls her pant leg down, she says, feeling more resigned than anything, "They're both going to want to hug me. Best get this over with." Elisabeth grins in amusement, likely at Alicia's ability to make an excessive number of hugs sound worse than a death sentence.

Alicia exits the bedroom, her limp now barely noticeable. Before she can make it two steps into the living area, Boylan has her wrapped up in a bear hug. She can see Malcolm and now Guzman standing behind him, both waiting their turn. Over Boylan's shoulder, she shoots her chuckling husband a death glare.

After the greetings are complete, the first thing they do is reveal that they're married. The only people in the room surprised by the revelation are Boylan and Guzman. Malcolm knew because he's the one who married them, and Reynolds and Reilly had been the witnesses. She hadn't been too worried about Boylan's reaction, but much to Alicia's relief, Guzman was demonstrably happy for them, once again hugging her.

From there, she moved on to explaining all that had happened to her, though, as planned, it was an abridged version. Boylan had tensed a little when she got to the part about using the communicators he'd used with the Sixers before, but she didn't want to leave any details regarding the proposed contact with the Sixers out.

When she finished her story, all were silent, just processing the information. Alicia could see that Reynolds wanted to say something, but she guessed he was waiting for one of his superior officers to speak up. After a moment, Guzman says, "So, where do we go from here? Do we want to trust them, not trust them, somewhere in between?"

Elisabeth stands. "I'm going to leave you all to this. Jim, I'll see you at home. Lieutenant, please come by the infirmary tomorrow to let me take a look at your leg again."

They all nod, and Elisabeth slips out the front door. Nathaniel turns to Malcolm. "Whether you stay or not is up to you, Malcolm. You've more than earned your place at the table on things like this."

Malcolm hesitates, but he doesn't stand. "I don't necessarily want to be actively involved, Commander, but I'd like to be in the loop and can help when needed."

Nathaniel nods, and he looks at Alicia. "Wash, to Guz's point, what do you think? How trustworthy are they?"

"Well, they appear to be, without question, no better than second class citizens in the eyes of the Phoenix Group. I think that alone is motivating for them. Mira and Carter also both seem to be chafing under being ordered around. Beyond that, they really stuck their necks out helping me get out and protecting me. Even if their actions are grounded in self interest, I don't think that makes them questionable. If anything, I think that makes them more trustworthy."

She stops a moment, thinking about the one thing that has been nagging in the back of her mind since this whole thing started, a concern she has yet to voice to anyone. Able to read her like a book, Nathaniel says, "I sense a 'but' coming, Wash."

"But," she quirks a smile at him, "The only thing that I can think of that would be a major problem is if they planned this from the start, Mira and the Phoenix Group, in order to have a plausible way to feed us false information that we'd act on because we think the source is good."

She looks around the room, and Reynolds catches her eye and nods. She realizes that what she just said may be what was bothering him too. If that's the case, she's proud of her adopted little brother.

They all seem to be silently contemplating Alicia's concern, until Shannon breaks the silence. "So, how can we go about validating what they tell us?"

Alicia frowns. "We need to use the recon team, but we need to get a message to them to be more careful, considering how easy it was for Mira and Carter to make them at the last camp."

"So, when do they expect to hear from you?" Boylan speaks for the first time.

"In the next forty-eight hours," she passes him the chip from Mira with the frequencies on it. "Those are the frequencies, per Mira, that are safe to use; but we'll still need to be careful about what we say, in case Mira and Carter really are playing us."

"Who will they talk to?" Boylan asks. When Wash looks at him in surprise, he explains, "They're paranoid, Wash. I know they'll have a short list."

She nods. "You, me and the Commander. No one else."

Nathaniel, who, for the most part, has been listening quietly, stands up. "OK, we'll make contact, see what they have for us. Everyone dismissed for now, except you, Boylan."

They all file out, though Alicia can see that Shannon wants to stay. She discreetly shakes her head at him and motions to the door. This meeting with Boylan is about history and trust, and it's something that has to happen without an audience.

When the three of them are alone, Alicia sinks onto the sofa and curls her legs up underneath her. As far as she's concerned, this is between Nathaniel and Boylan. She's just here to referee if needed.

"Well, Tommy, looks like it's time for us to try to make nice."

Boylan snorts. "It does indeed."

With that, the men stare at each other, some sort of silent challenge in the air between them. The wordless face off continues for several minutes before Alicia has had enough. Looking first at Nathaniel and then at Boylan, she blows out an exasperated breath and stands up.

"Boylan," she barks. He and Nathaniel both look at her in surprise. "Go get the communicators, get the frequencies set and be back here in two hours. Nathaniel, we need you to find a way to get comfortable working with him, as we both need to trust him. For the record, given how much he helped me when the Phoenix Group was here," she inclines her head to Boylan, "I already do."

They both regard her quietly, still surprised by her outburst. She looks back at them both. "I'll see you both in a couple of hours. I hope you have this sorted by then. If you don't, with all due respect, I'm doing all of the talking. Now, I have unpacking to do."

With that, she sweeps out of the room, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "Men. Ugh," under her breath.

A beat later, Boylan says, "You've got your hands full, don't you, Nathaniel?"

Nathaniel scowls at Boylan for a moment, but then he has to laugh. "You have no idea, Tommy. Seriously. No idea."


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to everyone reading and commenting! As noted in chapter 7's author's note, I have more stories I'll be posting (all are in the same context, relationship wise, as this one). Next up will be a story of how they originally got together (called **_**118 Days Later**_**). I have two other multi-chapter fics after that one, and several one-shots as well.**

**Disclaimer wise, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.**

Alicia is on her knees in the bathroom rearranging the cabinets to make room for her things when she hears the front door open and close. A moment later, Nathaniel appears in the bathroom doorway, stopping and leaning against the frame. "So, are you over your mad?"

Rolling her eyes, she sits back on her heels and looks at him. "I wasn't mad, Nathaniel." He raises an eyebrow at her. "I was frustrated. We don't have time for you and Boylan to indulge in the pissing match I know you're both spoiling for."

"I know."

She blinks. "I'm sorry?"

He chuckles at that. "You're right. Boylan acknowledged the same, but it would appear he is far more intimidated by you than he is by me, because he flat out refused to come find you to make nice. He took off to get the communicators and will be back soon." He extends a hand to her to help her up off the floor.

She winces as she lets him pull her to her feet. "Don't tell Elisabeth about that, OK?"

"As long as you give me a pass the next time I do something stupid after being injured." She shoots him a dirty look. "Just quid pro quo, Wash."

"Fine." She walks out of the bathroom, her limp slightly more pronounced than it was earlier. She can feel him following her, so as she heads to the boxes in the living room to get the rest of her bathroom things, she asks, "Are you and Boylan just going to pretend to trust each other for now?"

"Not exactly." She turns and gives him a questioning look. "I don't particularly trust him, and he definitely doesn't like me. We're both sure we can't bullshit our way around that. So, we just admitted it and figured out a way to make this work."

"This I have to hear," she says as she goes to pick up a box to take back to the bathroom.

He grabs the box before she can pick it up, motioning with his head for her to just go back to the bathroom. He follows behind her with the box. "It was funny. He completely respects the fact that I don't trust him. We agreed that for any scheduled contact with Mira and Carter, he'll never be the only one of us listening. If necessary, when we go OTG, we'll have Guz or Shannon sit in on any calls that come in."

"When 'we' go OTG? Nathaniel…"

He puts the box on the floor in the bathroom and shakes his head. "Give me a little time, Alicia. For now, when one of us goes, we both go. I'll probably be able to get past that sooner or later, at least for low risk trips, but until then this is how it is. No arguments."

She wants to push back, but something in his eyes almost begs her not to. "OK, Nathaniel." She desperately wants to dispel his fears, especially his fear of being separated from her again, but she knows she can't. So, she just steps over to him and wraps her arms around him, pressing her body to his.

He holds her tight to him, and after a moment, she leans up and catches his lips with hers. Almost immediately, his hands slide down to her hips, and, without breaking their kiss, he easily lifts her up and sits her on the bathroom counter. Her legs automatically wrap around his waist, pulling him even closer to her. His hands weave into her hair as he deepens their kiss, gripping tightly, and they lose themselves in each other.

A loud knock at their front door makes them both pull back a little, though she keeps her legs wrapped around him and presses her face into his neck, muffling her voice. "Damn. Someday soon, can we disappear for a day and not tell anyone where we are? Please?"

She feels his chuckle reverberate through his neck. "That's the best idea you've had in a while, Lieutenant."

She leans back to look at him. "You know there's no way Boylan's already back. I'll bet you money that it's Shannon, wanting to know what happened with Boylan."

He shakes his head. "That's a sucker bet, my dear."

She grins. "It was worth a shot." The knock sounds again, more insistent this time, and she unwraps her legs from around him. "Go let him in, will you? Otherwise, he's going to wear a hole in the door."

"Yes ma'am." He picks her up from the counter and lowers her back to the floor before slipping out of the bathroom. A moment later, she can't help but laugh when she hears the door open and Nathaniel saying, "Shannon. What a surprise. Want to come in?"

*****

Two hours later, Alicia, Nathaniel, Boylan and a sullen Jim Shannon sit at the kitchen table, preparing to attempt to contact Mira for the first time. Shannon is sullen because, save for a bare bones explanation of the requirement that Boylan not be the only one there for scheduled calls, they hadn't told him anything else about what transpired between Nathaniel and the bar owner.

Guz had also been here, just to be updated on the planned procedures and contact. He left about an hour ago to do a perimeter patrol, something Alicia is anxious to start doing herself again.

"So, are we agreed that I'm taking the lead this time?" Shannon grunts in response to her question as Nathaniel and Boylan nod stiffly. "Relax, boys. She's either going to answer or she won't. Not much we can do either way. And by the way, yes, we have call signs pre-arranged. All were Mira's suggestions, so no smartass remarks, understood?"

"No promises." Nathaniel smirks at her.

Alicia rolls her eyes before pressing the transmit button on the small communication device provided by Boylan. She taps out an arranged static code, similar to Morse code, to signal Mira that there's someone trying to contact her and that the someone is Alicia. Several moments later, the arranged response code beeps through the communicator.

Taking a deep breath, Alicia says, "Scout, this is Firebird. Do you copy."

After a few seconds, they hear Mira's voice. "Firebird, we copy. You shake off your ashes yet, get home in one piece?"

"Affirmative. Ashes are gone. A little banged up, but mostly just fine. How is the new place? Haunted?" Alicia hopes that Mira understands her last word, as she's trying to find out if the recon team is better hidden than before.

"Pretty sure it is, but the ghosts are staying out of sight." At Mira's words, Alicia catches Nathaniel's eye, and she raises an eyebrow at him while holding out the communicator to him.

He nods and takes it. "So, Scout, long time, no talk."

"Good to know the Firebird has her Wolf nearby. Mine's not far either. But I've just got the one. Do you have any extras?" Mira's voice goes a little sharp.

Boylan holds his hand out for the communicator. After Nathaniel begrudgingly hands it over, Boylan says into it, "Hey there, Scout."

"Hey back, Irish."

Boylan chuckles at that and hands the communicator back to Alicia. "Scout, what's the word on finding the new way home?"

"No progress thus far, though that may be because the one doing the searching has been a bit preoccupied by the loss of the carrot. All the leaders have left is the stick, and not surprisingly, he doesn't respond well to that."

Alicia nods. "Understood. I hope the fallout from lighting me up wasn't too severe."

Mira gives a mirthless laugh. "No worries, Firebird. I'm pretty unpopular, but nothing I can't manage. By the way, my wolf is here now too, just call him Grey, and he wants to talk to you."

A moment later, Carter's voice comes on the line. "Firebird, I know you're going to be looking for something you can verify – or at least I would be if I was in your shoes – so just know we wound about as I had you do, avoiding people, not slashers, but ended up with the same result. Straight line from old location will get you to the same place."

"Thanks, Grey. Take care of you and Scout." Alicia knows what Carter just told them, but she'll likely have to explain it to Nathaniel.

"Firebird?" Mira's voice is questioning now.

"Still here," Alicia replies.

"Just so you know, we may be looking for a shady spot sooner rather than later." For the first time during the rather odd conversation, Mira sounds nervous.

Alicia meets Nathaniel's eyes again, and he nods at her. She activates the communicator again, but Nathaniel is the one to speak. "We've got shade here, Scout, but be aware that finding your way to it isn't without its obstacles."

"Understood, Wolf. And we do have some stories to share right now." Mira proceeds to update them on all the activities they've observed thus far, including information on Lucas. They all breathe a sigh of relief when they realize that, at least for now, the Phoenix Group has no plans to come at the colony. After setting a scheduled call for two days away, they all sign off.

The four of them are silent for a moment before, not surprisingly, Shannon speaks up. "Well that was…cryptic."

Alicia huffs out a small laugh. "Yeah, more so than I even expected. At least we'll make them work for it if they're listening in," she looks at Nathaniel, "Is it just me, or did Mira sound a little scared?"

Shannon and Boylan both nod, and Nathaniel says, "It's not just you. I'm glad to know they're seemingly uninterested in us, but I'm also curious as to why that is. I wonder what Lucas is telling them about their ability to reopen a portal to our 2149. We need to get Malcolm's take on what the real likelihood of that is."

"In his own words, the answer is 'slim to none, even for someone as brilliant as Lucas Taylor.'" They all turn to look at Boylan. "What? I asked him when we first found the artifacts in the container. I pretty much knew that getting back to our 2149 would be the Phoenix Group's goal. I'd guess that they know that if they have to fight us without backup, even though we'll take some serious casualties, the most likely outcome is us kicking their asses."

Looking out the window, Alicia sees that it's getting dark. "Should we call it a night?"

Nathaniel nods. "Yes. We need to regroup tomorrow and start doing some planning. One thing we have to think about is what the hell we're going to do with the Sixers if they come here, both lodging and something to keep them busy day to day. We'll have Guz there too, as we need to review the security scheme to make sure we're as impenetrable as possible. I think we may need Malcolm, too."

Alicia looks at Boylan, who nods. "What time, and I'll let him know?"

"Zero nine hundred in the command center?" Alicia looks to Nathaniel again.

"Sounds good. Shannon, let Guz know as well. I know you've been checking in with him in the evenings lately." Nathaniel looks from Shannon to Boylan. "Now don't take this the wrong way, boys, but get out of here and leave me and my wife alone."

Alicia rolls her eyes, but Boylan and Shannon just laugh as they wave good night and head out, Boylan leaving two of the communication units on the table for her and for Nathaniel. She can tell that Shannon is dying to make a comment as he leaves, but she shoots him a death glare that seems to make him think twice about it.

As the door closes behind them, she hears a chuckle from behind her. She turns to face a smirking Nathaniel. "You're really going to have to teach me that look so I can use it on Shannon too."

"Trade secret, Commander." She begins to straighten up, but he beats her to the glasses that are out on the table, gathering them up and taking them to the kitchen. She grins as he starts to wash them out, thinking she could get used to this domestic side of him. She settles down on a stool at the breakfast bar to watch him, still grinning.

He catches her grin, and he narrows his eyes at her. "Don't get used to me waiting on you, Lieutenant. Consider this fallout from my being really happy to have you back and your being injured."

"OK. But, for the record, it's kind of sexy."

That's his cue to roll his own eyes. "Good try, Alicia."

She laughs and then gets more serious as she thinks about their conversation with Mira and Carter. "I never thought I'd say this, Nathaniel, but I'm a little worried about Mira. She went way out on a limb helping me escape, and I'm afraid they may have been harder on her than she's letting on."

"Agreed. Hopefully, Carter will look out for her. Speaking of, what was he talking about with the straight line and winding about stuff?" He gives her a questioning look.

"I think that he meant the camp is due north of the last one, which was due north of the colony and the outpost I went for when I got out. The winding around is what I had to do to avoid a heavy slasher area," she shrugs a little, "Of course, it didn't help me that much considering that a pair of those bastards still found me."

He finishes washing the last glass and puts it on the drying rack. "We'll compare that to what the recon team reports in tomorrow, but I think they sound sincere. I'm hoping they can give us a little more information before they need to bug out, but at this point, I'm willing to take them in whenever they need it. They don't need to know this, but frankly, just getting you back to me would've been enough to buy them asylum."

She smiles briefly before looking down at the countertop, suddenly pensive. He walks around the bar and sits on the stool next to her, turning her stool to make her look at him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She sighs. "I know it's ridiculous, but I just wish we could go back and prevent all of this. We were so happy and hopeful before, and it suddenly feels on edge again, the way we always were in the war zones back in the future. It was nice to just enjoy life for a while, you know? I mean, it wasn't perfect, but it didn't feel like we had to be constantly looking over our shoulders."

He hugs her to him. "It's not ridiculous, Alicia. So much of this rests on my head," she stiffens, and he clearly knows she's about to argue with him. "I know it's not really my fault. If I could redo that awful moment when I had to choose between him and Ayani, I know I'd do it the same way. It was never a real choice. I just wish I could make Lucas see that."

Pulling back, she presses her forehead to his. "But you know he never will." It's not a question. She raises her hands to his face, brushing her thumbs across his cheeks.

"I do. I never accepted it before, but I have now. Ayani would be disappointed in me for giving up, but I don't know what else I can do. I just can't put you or the colony in danger anymore, and that's what I do every time I try to give Lucas the benefit of the doubt." He shakes his head.

"He's your son, Nathaniel. No one here blames you for wanting to make things right between you." She pauses. "And I'm very sorry it came to this. I hope you know that."

Instead of responding, he just leans down and kisses her. When he pulls back, his eyes seem lighter, less haunted. "Now, I'm going to continue my episode of domesticity. I'm going to warm up dinner."

He laughs when she looks truly alarmed. "Warm up, not cook, Alicia. A man has to know his limitations, and I don't want to kill you with my cooking, not when I just got you back."

She gives him a fond smile and kisses him again before settling back on her stool and leaning on the counter. "Well carry on, Commander. A girl's gotta eat."

"Yes, ma'am. And let's just have a little fun tonight, OK? Take a break from solving the world's problems?" He raises an eyebrow at her.

"I like that idea very much. What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Well," he replies, reaching out and tousling her hair, making her swat at his hand, "I've been watching you appraise the living room and stare at all of your boxes."

"OK," she says, a little confused.

"How about I help you unpack the rest of your stuff, and then I'll let you tell me how to rearrange the furniture?" he offers, grinning.

She grins back. "Ooh, Nathaniel, never let it be said that you don't know how to show a girl a good time."

Laughing, he goes to the refrigerator, and he pulls out the food he bought earlier in the market. He also opens a bottle of wine he got from Boylan and pours them each a glass.

They both know that none of this is over and that tomorrow, they'll have to get up in the morning and face it all again. But for now, as she sits and thinks about where she really wants the sofa, they're good with just being with each other and pretending everything outside the walls of the colony is just fine. That, and she secretly enjoys the idea of bossing him around later, almost as much as he enjoys the fact that she's here to do it.


End file.
